Published: Friday, December 14, 2012 at 11:47 p.m.

Last Modified: Friday, December 14, 2012 at 11:47 p.m.

SHOPPERS STOP TO LOOK AT A MEMORIAL for slaying victim Stephanie Ross in front of Evolution Records on Kentucky Avenue in downtown Lakeland.

PHOTOS BY PIERRE DuCHARME | THE LEDGER

That sentiment, shared by Leif Langford, 25, of Lakeland was something everyone in attendance could agree on Friday night as dozens of friends gathered at a home to celebrate the life of 25-year-old Stephanie Ross, whose funeral was earlier in the day.

Ross graduated from Lakeland High School in 2005 and went on to get her bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of South Florida. Friends said she planned to return to USF next fall to pursue her doctorate degree.

Those plans were cut short when police say Lucious Smith, 53, stabbed and killed her when she arrived at his Dade City home Monday. Smith was a client of Integra Health Management, a company Ross worked for as a service coordinator. Smith is being held in the Pasco County jail charged with first-degree murder.

Friends said Ross didn't plan to stay with the company much longer but that her disposition lent itself to working with others.

"I remember the first time I got dumped by a girlfriend, Stephanie let me be pathetic around her and sulk," Langford said. "She was the type of girl you could tell anything to. She was patient, warm, and easy to confide in — the type of person to laugh and smile while she cried."

Richard DeAngelis, who owns The Red Door wine bar, said Ross was one of the first people hired when he opened.

"At the time, she had very long, red hair in dreadlocks. She would come in and sit at the bar and tell me I was crazy for not hiring her. So when business picked up, I did," DeAngelis said.

"When she connected with people, she connected whole heartedly. The community has lost someone whose mantra was to give back."

David Steele of Lakeland said he and his wife met Ross while she was working at The Red Door and became her regular customers.

"I wish there was a way to capture in words the impact her eyes could make on a room," Steele said. "She could communicate everything to you just with her eyes. She had so much life in her eyes.

"She talked about her dreams of having a career where she could help people, and it made all the sense in the world when you saw her personality and the way she acted with people."

Jen Burnham, 26, of Lakeland said she'd been best friends with Ross for 14 years, since they meet in sixth grade.

Burnham said Ross loved horses and, as a child, saved up money to buy one of her own.

"She had a horse before she even had a car!" Burnham said.

One memory that stuck out to her was when Ross came on vacation with her family.

"My parents wanted to stop at Myrtle Beach, but we got lost and ended up in a parking lot," Burnham said, laughing. "The two of us stomped around in this huge puddle and pretended we were at the beach."

The memory spoke to something Ross' friends said they admired — her ability to make even the most dismal situation fun.

"She was always just in it," Ross' former roommate Marian Blackburn said. "No matter what she was doing, she was always engaged in the moment."

Another close friend, Mark Holt, said he remembered a time when he and Ross sat on his front porch and watched a guy jump out of his truck and steal a branch off an apparently rare tree in a neighbors front yard.

"Stephanie came up with the idea," Holt said. "We wrote a ransom note for the branch and left it on the tree.

"That's just the kind of person she was. She made everything fun."

As stories and laughter filled the air Friday, the feeling of loss still permeated the gathering.

"She was just awesome, dude. Always smiling," 26-year-old Josh White of Lakeland said. "She is going to be missed."

"I wish there was a way you could be prepared for this kind of thing," said Ross' friend Kyle Thivierge of Tampa. "But if we all waited until we were ready, none of us would ever go."

[ Clifford Parody can be reached at clifford.parody@theledger.com or 863-802-7516. ]

<p>LAKELAND | "Stephanie could float to whatever social group she wanted, but fortunately she chose us."</p><p>That sentiment, shared by Leif Langford, 25, of Lakeland was something everyone in attendance could agree on Friday night as dozens of friends gathered at a home to celebrate the life of 25-year-old Stephanie Ross, whose funeral was earlier in the day.</p><p>Ross graduated from Lakeland High School in 2005 and went on to get her bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of South Florida. Friends said she planned to return to USF next fall to pursue her doctorate degree.</p><p>Those plans were cut short when police say Lucious Smith, 53, stabbed and killed her when she arrived at his Dade City home Monday. Smith was a client of Integra Health Management, a company Ross worked for as a service coordinator. Smith is being held in the Pasco County jail charged with first-degree murder.</p><p>Friends said Ross didn't plan to stay with the company much longer but that her disposition lent itself to working with others.</p><p>"I remember the first time I got dumped by a girlfriend, Stephanie let me be pathetic around her and sulk," Langford said. "She was the type of girl you could tell anything to. She was patient, warm, and easy to confide in — the type of person to laugh and smile while she cried."</p><p>Richard DeAngelis, who owns The Red Door wine bar, said Ross was one of the first people hired when he opened.</p><p>"At the time, she had very long, red hair in dreadlocks. She would come in and sit at the bar and tell me I was crazy for not hiring her. So when business picked up, I did," DeAngelis said.</p><p>"When she connected with people, she connected whole heartedly. The community has lost someone whose mantra was to give back."</p><p>David Steele of Lakeland said he and his wife met Ross while she was working at The Red Door and became her regular customers.</p><p>"I wish there was a way to capture in words the impact her eyes could make on a room," Steele said. "She could communicate everything to you just with her eyes. She had so much life in her eyes.</p><p>"She talked about her dreams of having a career where she could help people, and it made all the sense in the world when you saw her personality and the way she acted with people."</p><p>Jen Burnham, 26, of Lakeland said she'd been best friends with Ross for 14 years, since they meet in sixth grade.</p><p>Burnham said Ross loved horses and, as a child, saved up money to buy one of her own.</p><p>"She had a horse before she even had a car!" Burnham said.</p><p>One memory that stuck out to her was when Ross came on vacation with her family.</p><p>"My parents wanted to stop at Myrtle Beach, but we got lost and ended up in a parking lot," Burnham said, laughing. "The two of us stomped around in this huge puddle and pretended we were at the beach."</p><p>The memory spoke to something Ross' friends said they admired — her ability to make even the most dismal situation fun.</p><p>"She was always just in it," Ross' former roommate Marian Blackburn said. "No matter what she was doing, she was always engaged in the moment."</p><p>Another close friend, Mark Holt, said he remembered a time when he and Ross sat on his front porch and watched a guy jump out of his truck and steal a branch off an apparently rare tree in a neighbors front yard.</p><p>"Stephanie came up with the idea," Holt said. "We wrote a ransom note for the branch and left it on the tree.</p><p>"That's just the kind of person she was. She made everything fun."</p><p>As stories and laughter filled the air Friday, the feeling of loss still permeated the gathering.</p><p>"She was just awesome, dude. Always smiling," 26-year-old Josh White of Lakeland said. "She is going to be missed."</p><p>"I wish there was a way you could be prepared for this kind of thing," said Ross' friend Kyle Thivierge of Tampa. "But if we all waited until we were ready, none of us would ever go."</p><p> </p><p>[ Clifford Parody can be reached at clifford.parody@theledger.com or 863-802-7516. ]</p>